SMC To Offer Classes On Potawatomi Language

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southwestern-michigan-college-6

Southwestern Michigan College is planning to offer classes in the Potawatomi language this fall. This is the first time the college has ever taught Pottawatomi, and the move is in response to some local requests to help keep the language alive. The SMC class will be taught by Tribal Elder Kevin Daughtery, who also taught two trial classes this year. The classes will be open to anyone, and they will fulfill a humanities requirement and also used to satisfy part of the world languages requirement at local high schools. SMC says the decline of Potawatomi started in the 1830 when bands except the Pokagons were removed to Oklahoma and Kansas. The Potawatomi language is a subgroup of the Algonquin family, related to Ojibwe and Odawa.